Prince Harry, Meghan pay respects at Sydney’s Anzac memorial

Prince Harry, a former British army officer, has officially opened Sydney's new Anzac Memorial ahead of the start of his Invictus games for war veterans.

UpdatedUpdated 20 October

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Prince Harry has opened the enhanced Anzac Memorial in Sydney's Hyde Park.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the ceremony on Saturday morning alongside the governor of NSW, retired general David Hurley, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Harry, a former officer in the British Army, wore military dress uniform as he unveiled the plaque to open the extension which completes the memorial first opened by his great-great uncle Prince Henry in 1934.

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex lay a wreath at the official opening of Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park, Sydney.

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General Hurley told the ceremony a public fund was established on the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings to finance the construction of the memorial to honour the servicemen and women who died in the Great War.

"The memorial was completed as far as funds would allow in 1934 after a difficult period for fundraising, following the war and during the depression," he said.

The memorial extension, funded by the Commonwealth and NSW governments, is the centrepiece of the state's Centenary of Anzac commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the ending of the First World War this year.

The extension has been designed to enhance its role to support and provide services for veterans and their families, ensuring a public and a private place of contemplation, remembrance, education and reflection.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on a 3-week tour of Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Fiji and are in Sydney to launch the 2018 Invictus Games.

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It features a major new artwork with more than 1700 soil samples from each NSW town, suburb and district given as a place of address by First World War enlistees in the region.

It also has new education spaces and exhibition areas and accommodated the Royal United Services Institute for defence and security studies library.

"All of this allows the memorial to tell the story of NSW' involvement with and for all Australians, in war, and in peacekeeping missions," General Hurley said.

The prince, a former officer in the British Army, wore his dress dress uniform as he unveiled the plaque to open the extension.

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"It honours those who have served and fosters ongoing scholarship and learning."

Harry and Meghan laid a wreath as did other dignitaries followed by a minute's silence and the Last Post.

Meghan wore a black, high-necked, full-skirted dress with buttons down the front and hat.